Butterfly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly

Butterfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Butterflies are part of the class of insects in the order Lepidoptera, along with the moths. Adult
butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group
comprises the large superfamily Papilionoidea, along with two smaller groups, the skippers
(superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). Butterfly fossils date to
the Palaeocene, about 56 million years ago.

Butterflies
Temporal range: PalaeoceneRecent, 560 Ma
Pre

O S D

P T

Pg N

Butterflies have the typical four-stage insect life cycle. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on
which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and
when fully developed pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits,
the adult insect climbs out and, after its wings have expanded and dried, it flies off. Some butterflies,
especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation,
and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their whole life cycle.
Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use of camouflage, mimicry and
aposematism to evade their predators. Some, like the monarch and the painted lady, migrate over
long distances. Some butterflies have parasitoidal relationships with organisms including protozoans,
flies, ants, and other invertebrates, and are predated by vertebrates. Some species are pests
because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; other species are agents of
pollination of some plants, and caterpillars of a few butterflies (e.g., harvesters) eat harmful insects.
Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.

Papilio machaon

Scientific classification
Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Arthropoda

Class:

Insecta

Order:

Lepidoptera

Suborder:

Rhopalocera

Subgroups
Superfamily Hedyloidea:
Hedylidae
Superfamily
Hesperioidea:
Hesperiidae
Superfamily
Papilionoidea:
Papilionidae
Pieridae
Nymphalidae
Lycaenidae
Riodinidae

Papilio demoleus

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